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Chains that bind the sea
|details = Previously you explored the strait near Istanbul right? There was a research request from a Tactician regarding a battle of Byzantine Imperial Army and the Turkish Army, which was mentioned in the report. You might find something out from the Athens Maritime Guildmaster. |step1 = /Survey details/Athens/Maritime GM/ So you are the Voyager that responded to the request. The Tactician who made the request is unfortunately stepping out at the moment. In exchange, I shall be the one to inform you. We have received information about the boat that took advantage of the fall of the Byzantine empire to visit new lands. I would like you to investigate more about this. I am sure that the travelling scholar in Salonika will know more about this. |step2 = /Turks and Byzantine/Salonika/Travelling Scholar/ The city known these days as Istanbul used to be the capital of the Byzantine empire, Constantinople. The capital was protected by a castle wall, and employed fearsome defenses that kept even the Turkish army at bay. It even got to the point that they had to adapt boats to be used on land... |step3 = /Relationship of terrain/Salonika/Travelling Scholar/ Why did boats have to be used on land? That's because Constantinople was on the very tip of a peninsula that jutted out to the east. The north was home to the Golden Horn, and the sout was protected by the Marmara Sea. This meant that the only possible way to attack Byzantine was through the land that contained the castle wall to the west. |step4 = /Battle on the seas/Salonika/Travelling Scholar/ One day, the Turkish army tried to capture four ships from Genoa that were carrying supplies for Byzantine. However, even with 100 ships, they were unable to succeed. The Byzantine empire simply had too much experience fighting on water for the Turkish army to compete. |step5 = /A successful land crossing/Salonika/Travelling Scholar/ However, Mehmed II devised a plan to have ships cross the Bosporus strait over the European side's landmass and send them directly into the Gold Horn. This plan ended up succeeding, and through a sustained assault on both the western wall and from the Gold Horn to the north, the Byzantine empire met its end. That's about as much as I know however you can ask someone at the rest area in Istanbul for more. |step6 = /A chain denied by the Turkish army/Istanbul/Customer (in yellow robe)/ Why did Mehmed II have to carry his ships over land? Because the standard entrance to the Gold Horn was sealed off. And with a gigantic chain, at that. If that hadn't been there, they could have attacked the Byzantine empire from inside their castle wall easily. Even the four Genoa ships ended up running inside that chain. |step7 = /Raid of the Turks/Istanbul/Customer/ That's why the Turkish Army had no choice but to carry the ships over land to get them into the Gold Horn. They set up giant logs, poured oil on them, and dragged the ships across. I have no doubt that the Byzantine empire was shocked to see them there. It would have seemed like the Turkish ships appeared in the Gold Horn overnight. |step8 = /Defeat of the Byzantine empire/Istanbul/Customer/ After that, the Byzantine empire was in shreds. They had taken heavy cannon fire from both the western castle wall and from the Gold Horn, and were unable to hold out against subsequent waves the first and second battalions, let alone the follow-up attack by the Yeniceri army. In the midst of the chaos, the Byzantine emperor is said to have died in battle. |step9 = /"""If only..."""/Istanbul/Customer/ The Gold Horn chain was the pivot of the entire Byzantine empire. I know that there are no "what-ifs" in history, but what if Mehmed II had never come up with the plan to transport ships over land? This might still by Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine empire. Incidentally, their famous chain is being preserved in this city's mosque. |stepfinal = The chain and land crossing/Istanbul/Mosque/ The Turkish army really did carry ships over land. The reason they had to do that was because the only entrance to the sea was cut off by a giant chain. Apparently, that chain is now being preserved in this city's mosque. I must use Search skill in order to find it. |discoXP = 200 |cardXP = 100 |reportXP = 140 |reportfame = 70 |item1 = Quest Mediation Permit |notes = |preQ1 = quest/Ebb and flow within a narrow sea/Recognition/5/Geography/7/Greek/1/The Bosphorus |subQ1 = |chainQ1 = |landarea = Istanbul |seaarea = Black Sea }}